White balance adjustment device, image capture device, white balance adjustment method, storage medium, and integrated circuit

ABSTRACT

A natural white balance is achieved in images that are captured while emitting a flash. The white balance of an image is adjusted using a WB adjustment portion and a mixture ratio calculation portion estimating a mixture ratio of an external light component and a flashed light component that are present in an image captured with emitting a flash, from the image obtained that is captured while emitting a flash and an image signal that is obtained without emitting a flash. Further, an external light WB coefficient determination portion determines an WB coefficient for the external light, a flashed light WB coefficient setting portion sets a WB coefficient for the flashed light, and a WB processing portion that continuously performs WB processing on the image captured while emitting a flash by using the mixture ratio as an interpolation ratio.

This is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/186,805, filed Aug. 6, 2008 now U.S. Pat. No. 8,040,391.

This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No.2007-204539 filed on Aug. 6, 2007 and priority to Japanese PatentApplication No. 2008-161560 filed on Jun. 20, 2008. The entiredisclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-204539 filed on Aug.6, 2007 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-161560 filed on June 20is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to technologies for adjusting the whitebalance of a captured image. In particular, it relates to technologiesfor adjusting the white balance of an image that has been captured by animage capture device that is provided with an illumination portion(flash emission device) that allows the flashed light to be controlled.

2. Description of the Related Art

Image capture devices such as digital still cameras use a flash emissiondevice in order to illuminate an object to be captured with a flashedlight as a helper light, when the light that is reflected from theobject to be captured during imaging is weak. Image capture devices mayalso employ a flash emission device as backlight correction in order toilluminate a flashed light on a person (captured object) to brighten theperson, and in doing so keep the person from appearing dark when thatperson is imaged against a bright background such as sunlight.

On the other hand, there are instances when capturing an image of anobject to be captured after a flash emission device has emitted aflashed light results in an photograph (captured image) with anunnatural color balance with respect to the captured object image withlight (illumination light) due to the lighting originally present in theimage capture environment (the captured object image on the capturedimage that is obtained from the illumination light that is reflected offof the captured object) and the captured object image due to the flashedlight (that captured object image on the captured image that is obtainedfrom the flashed light that is reflected by the object to be captured).This is because there is a difference in the color temperature betweenthe illumination light that originally illuminates the captured objectand the flashed light.

Image capture devices such as digital still cameras generally performprocessing known as white balance (WB) adjustment (hereinafter, WBadjustment). An example of this would be a case in which the object tobe captured is illuminated by lighting with a low color temperature,such as an incandescent lamp, in which case adjustment is performed torelatively weaken the red (R) component signal (image data values) ofthe captured image data, and conversely, to strengthen the blue (B)component signal (image data values), in order to express white in theobject to be captured as white on the captured image. WB adjustment canremove the effects of the illumination light, so that white objects arewhite objects in the captured image. Methods for finding the colortemperature of the lighting include using a color sensor, estimatingfrom the color distribution of the image data that are captured(captured image data), and selection by the user. When the image capturedevice captures an image using a flashed light, it can perform WBadjustment in accordance with the color temperature of the flashedlight, which is already known.

However, when an image is captured using a flashed light, in manysituations light other than the flashed light, that is, the illuminationlight (external light) originally present in the image captureenvironment, blends with the flashed light, and together the twoilluminate the object to be captured. For this reason, performing WBadjustment based on the flashed light results in natural correction forobjects that are brightly illuminated by the flashed light, however,appropriate WB adjustment is not performed for objects that are poorlylit by the flashed light or objects that are not illuminated by theflashed light at all (such as background), and this leads to anunnatural captured image (areas originally white become colors otherthan white in the captured image).

The image capture device disclosed by Japanese Patent Publication3540485 is an example of a conventional image capture device for solvingthis problem. Japanese Patent Publication 3540485 discloses aconfiguration for an image capture device (electric still camera) thatfinds, per pixel, the ratio of pixel values of two images that arecaptured with and without a flashed light and determines thecontribution of the flashed light based on the value of this ratio, andthen, based on the results of this determination, selects a WBcoefficient for the external light, a WB coefficient for the flashedlight, and WB coefficients between these two, and performs WBadjustment. When “a” is the pixel value of the image captured with theemission of a flash and “b” is the pixel value of the image capturedwithout the emission of a flash, the ratio (flashed lightcontribution)=a/b. With the device of Japanese Patent Publication3540485, when a/b≈1 it is determined that that pixel is in a region notreached by the flashed light, and when a/b>>1 it is determined that thatpixel is in a region that is sufficiently reached by the flashed light.Japanese Patent Publication 3540485 further discloses that byrestricting the variability of the WB coefficient for each pixel, it ispossible to keep the WB coefficient from changing suddenly betweenpixels even when the captured object has moved between the capturing ofthe two images.

However, the structure of the conventional image capture device has thefollowing three problems.

The first is that with the conventional image capture device, a colorpseudo-border occurs in the region where the WB coefficients areswitched.

In Japanese Patent Publication 3540485, a WB coefficient for theexternal light, a WB coefficient for the flashed light, and a WBcoefficient between the two are “selected” based on the results of“determination” of the flashed light contribution, but this intermediateWB coefficient must be a “discrete value.” Thus, a color pseudo-borderoccurs in the region in which the WB coefficient is switched when theratio of both the external light and the flashed light are continuouslyaltered while irradiating the object to be captured. This is because theflashed light contribution is “non-linear.” This is explained below.

First, the flashed light contribution is shown to be “non-linear.”

For each pixel, when C is the external light illumination, B is theflashed light illumination, R is the reflectance, and “a” and “b” arethe pixel values of pixels with and without the emission of the flashedlight, the pixel values a and b become:a=(C+B)·R,b=C·Rand the flashed light contribution K isK=a/b=1+B/C.Thus, the flashed light contribution K is a “non-linear” parameter(value range=1 to ∞) in which the value increases sharply the smallerthe external light illumination C.

Thus, to perform linear WB adjustment with respect to a change in theexternal light illumination C, it is necessary to partition morenarrowly the smaller the range of values of the external lightillumination C, and a large number of values must be readied in a tableor the like.

Further, not only it is necessary to partition based on the range ofvalues for the external light illumination C, but there are varioustypes of external lighting (clear skies, fluorescent light, light bulbs,etc.), and a WB coefficient must be readied for each combinationthereof, and thus significant circuitry and memory are needed.

In instances where the object to be captured has moved, attempting tocontinuously change the WB coefficient in the regions where it has moved(regions on the captured image) and the regions where it has not moved(regions on the captured image) similarly requires many WB coefficients.

As illustrated above, it is not realistic to solve the problem byincreasing the number of WB coefficients, and thus intermediate WBcoefficients must be made “discrete values,” resulting in colorpseudo-borders in regions where the WB coefficient is switched.

Secondly, with the conventional image capture device, the precision ofWB adjustment is poor, and information dropping precludes complete WBadjustment.

The region of the flashed light contribution K (=a/b) is 1 to ∞, andsince it is not possible to handle the value ∞, the flashed lightcontribution K must be restricted to a predetermined upper limit valueth.

Captured objects where K≧th are all corrected with the same WBcoefficient when the upper limit value th is set to a low value, andthus the precision of WB adjustment drops. A flash is often emittedprimarily in order to brighten objects that are dark, and thus theexternal light illumination C tends to be small and the flashed lightillumination B tends to be large. The flashed light contribution K(=1+B/C) thus becomes a large value, making K≧th and lowering theprecision of WB adjustment.

On the other hand, when the upper limit value th is set to a high value,a high degree of bit precision is necessary in order to maintainaccuracy within a small-value region because the flashed lightcontribution is a “non-linear” parameter that increases abruptly, andthis increases the scale of the circuitry.

Further, truncation leads to information loss and complete WB adjustmentthus is not possible in the first place.

Thirdly, with the conventional image capture device, shifts in colorstand out in regions where the captured object has moved.

Movement of the captured object while capturing two images with andwithout a flash shifts the flashed light contribution that is calculatedfrom the two images, and this results in inappropriate WB adjustment inregions where there is movement and is expressed as a shift in color.

In the present application, this problem is solved by using a low passfilter (LPF) as described later, but in general the linear nature of afilter does not allow an LPF to be adopted for the “non-linear” flashedlight contribution of Japanese Patent Publication 3540485, and thuscannot reduce color shifting.

Specifically, the flashed light contribution increases sharply thesmaller the external light illumination C. The value after LPF thus isstrongly affected by neighboring pixels that have extremely largevalues, and this precludes appropriate LPF processing.

It is conceivable to use a non-linear LPF in order to change theweighting coefficient, for example, in accordance with the pixel value.Changing the weighting coefficient with high precision, however,similarly requires weighting coefficients to be readied in a table,etc., and increases the scale of the circuit too much, and thus is notpractical.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a white balance adjustmentdevice, an image capture device, a white balance adjustment method, astorage medium, and an integrated circuit, that allow the white balanceto be theoretically correctly adjusted, do not cause pseudo-borders, andreduce color shifting in regions where the captured object has moved, aswell as allow the white balance to be adjusted easily, and with littlecircuitry, with respect to images that have been captured under lightingconditions with a mixture of external light and flashed light.

A first aspect of the invention is a white balance device that isprovided with a mixture ratio calculation portion, an external light WBcoefficient determination portion, a flashed light WB coefficientsetting portion, and a WB processing portion. The mixture ratiocalculation portion calculates a mixture ratio of an external lightcomponent and a flashed light component that are present in a secondimage signal, based on a first image signal that is obtained withoutirradiating a flashed light on an object to be captured, and a secondimage signal that is obtained by illuminating a flashed light on theobject to be captured. The external light WB coefficient determinationportion determines an external light WB coefficient, which is a whitebalance coefficient for the external light, from the first image signal.The flashed light WB coefficient setting portion sets a flashed light WBcoefficient, which is a white balance coefficient of the flashed light.The WB processing portion continuously performs white balance adjustmentof the second image signal between the external light WB coefficient andthe flashed light WB coefficient by using the mixture ratio as aninterpolation ratio.

Here, “external light” refers to all light other than flashed light thatis incident on the lens. It includes sunlight and lighting by otherillumination instruments (such as fluorescent lighting).

The “mixture ratio” is the percent (0 to 100%) external light componentand flashed light component in the second image signal, and may also bereferred to as the “structure ratio” or the “component ratio.” Forexample, if the mixture of the second image signal (external lightcomponent:flashed light component) is 3:1, then if the mixture ratio isdefined in terms of the percent external light (external light ratio),the mixture ratio (external light ratio)=75%, whereas if the mixtureratio is defined in terms of the percent flashed light (flashed lightratio), the mixture ratio (flashed light ratio)=25%. The mixture ratio(external light ratio, flashed light ratio) is calculated as in thesecond and third aspects of the invention, which are discussed later,but there is no limitation to these so long as the mixture ratio isfound.

“Use the mixture ratio as the interpolation ratio” includes the methodset forth in the fourth and fifth aspects of the invention, which arediscussed later, of continuously performing WB processing on the secondimage signal using a final WB coefficient, which takes on a continuousvalue that is obtained by interpolating the external light WBcoefficient and the flashed light WB coefficient using the structureratio as the interpolation ratio, and the method set forth in the sixthand seventh aspects of the invention, which, instead of interpolatingthe WB coefficients, involves creating third and fourth image signals inadvance by adjusting the WB of the second image signal with the externallight WB coefficient and the flashed light WB coefficient, and thencontinuously interpolating these with the structure ratio as theinterpolation ratio; however, there is no limitation to these, and it issufficient for the method to involve WB adjustment using the structureratio for the interpolation ratio.

With this white balance adjustment device, WB adjustment is carried outcontinuously with the mixture ratio (0 to 100%) serving as theinterpolation ratio. Mixture of the light is additive, and adjusting theWB according to the mixture ratio is equivalent to adjusting the WB ofthe external light component and the flashed light componentindividually, and thus theoretically correct WB adjustment is possibleeven for images that are captured under lighting conditions where thereis a mixture of external light and flashed light.

It should be noted that another conceivable method is to treat the imagesignal without flash as the external light component and the differenceimage signal of the two with and without flash as the flashed lightcomponent and independently perform WB adjustment on each of these andsum the results to obtain a final image signal, but the difference imagebecomes blurred when there is captured object shake or camera shake, andtherefore the final output image also is blurry. With this white balanceadjustment device, only the second image signal is subjected to WBadjustment, and thus blurring due to movement in the difference imageappears only in the WB coefficient. Images that have been WB adjusted bythis white balance adjustment device therefore do not have luminanceblurring and there is blurring only of the color, and this is difficultfor people to perceive (poorer images due to captured object shake andcamera shake, for example, do not stand out).

Since the mixture ratio is a linear parameter in which the ratio risesby the same amount as the increase in the external light illumination(or flashed light illumination), continuous WB adjustment can beperformed without requiring determination or partitioning in three equalstages. For this reason, pseudo-borders do not occur in regions wherethe WB coefficient is switched even when the ratio of both the externallight and the flashed light is continuously changed while the object tocapture is irradiated. Further, since there is no increase in the scaleof the circuitry and no memory usage due to partitioning, the whitebalance adjustment device can be achieved easily and with littlecircuitry (that is, at low cost).

Moreover, since the mixture ratio is a finite value in the range of 0 to1, there is no information loss due to threshold processing, forexample. This white balance adjustment device therefore allows completeWB adjustment to be performed, without lowering the precision of the WBadjustment.

It should be noted that this white balance adjustment is performed foreach pixel or each region. Thus, high-precision WB adjustment isperformed in accordance with the mixture ratio (external light ratio,flashed light ratio) of each pixel or each region. Processing in pixelunits is preferable over region units in order to perform more preciseWB adjustment. The white balance adjustment device has little circuitryand uses little memory, and thus high precision processing is possiblein pixel units.

It should be noted that the concept of “mixture ratio” in this inventionis a new concept that was not disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication3540485. Performing interpolation using the “mixture ratio (0 to 100%)”allows for the various noticeable, excellent results described above,which were not envisioned in Japanese Patent Publication 3540485, to beachieved.

A second aspect of the invention is the first aspect of the invention,in which the mixture ratio calculation portion calculates an externallight ratio, as the mixture ratio, by:(the external light ratio)=(a signal value of the first image signal)/(asignal value of the second image signal).

Here, the “external light ratio” is the percent external light component(0 to 100%) in the second image signal.

For each pixel, when C is the external light illumination, B is theflashed light illumination, R is the reflectance, and “b” is the firstimage signal (without flash emission) and “a” is the second image signal(with flash emission), then “a” and “b” are:a=(C+B)·R,b=C·Rand thus the external light ratio Kc isKc=b/a=C/(C+B)and this expresses the percent external light component C that ispresent in the second image signal (C+B).

If a exposure setting when obtaining a first image signal and a exposuresetting when obtaining a second image signal are different, it isnecessary to change the above equation such that the difference betweenthe exposure settings is canceled. In general, it is preferable to adopta darker exposure setting when obtaining the second image signal than anexposure setting when obtaining the first image signal such that thesecond image signal is not saturated by emitting a flash. In addition,it may be preferable to capture an image with a lighter exposure settingthan normal in order to reduce noise of the first image signal. Whencapturing an image for obtaining the first image signal with a timeslighter exposure setting than an exposure setting for obtaining thesecond image signal, an equation for calculating an external light ratiois(the external light ratio)=(a signal value of the first imagesignal)/((a signal value of the second image signal)*α)and so on. The equation is for calculating an external light ratio isnot limited to the above equation, and it is possible to use equationsequivalent to the above equation.

It should be noted that with regard to the “external light ratio” of thesecond aspect of the invention of this application, the numerator anddenominator of the formula for the “flashed light contribution” ofJapanese Patent Publication 3540485 have been inverted, but as mentionedearlier, the “mixture ratio (percent)” in the invention of thisapplication is a novel concept that was not disclosed in Japanese PatentPublication 3540485, and the result of deriving a simple formula for the“external light ratio” was an expression with inverted numerator and thedenominator.

Thus, the external light ratio can be calculated easily with littlecircuitry.

A third aspect of the invention is the first aspect of the invention, inwhich the mixture ratio calculation portion calculates a flashed lightratio, as the mixture ratio, by one of either:(the flashed light ratio)=1−(a signal value of first image signal)/(asignal value of second image signal)=(a signal value of second imagesignal−a signal value of first image signal)/(a signal value of secondimage signal).

Here, the “flashed light ratio” is the percent flashed light component(0 to 100%) of the second image signal.

Using the same parameter definitions as above, the flashed light ratioKb is:Kb=1−b/a=(a−b)/a=B/(C+B)regardless of which formula is used, and this expresses the percentflashed light component B that is present in the second image signal(C+B). When capturing an image for obtaining the first image signal witha times lighter exposure setting than an exposure setting for obtainingthe second image signal, an equation for calculating a flashed lightratio is(the flashed light ratio)=1−(a signal value of the first imagesignal)/(a signal value of the second image signal)=((a signal value ofthe second image signal)*α−(a signal value of the first imagesignal))/((a signal value of the second image signal)*α)and so on. The equation is for calculating an flashed light ratio is notlimited to the above equation, and it is possible to use equationsequivalent to the above equation.

Thus, the flashed light ratio can be calculated easily with littlecircuitry.

A fourth aspect of the invention is any one of the first through thirdaspects of the invention, in which the WB processing portion includes aWB coefficient calculation portion and a WB correction portion.

The WB coefficient calculation portion determines a final WBcoefficient, which takes on a continuous value that is the white balancecoefficient for performing white balance correction on the second imagesignal, by interpolating the value of the external light WB coefficientand the value of the flashed light WB coefficient based on the mixtureratio. The WB correction portion performs white balance correction onthe second image signal based on the final WB coefficient, which takeson a continuous value.

Here, “interpolation” is a concept that includes “internal division,”“inter-pole division,” and “continuously finding continuous intermediatevalues.”

Thus, WB adjustment can be performed continuously without three stageequal determination or partitioning. It also can be achieved easily andwith little circuitry.

A fifth aspect of the invention is the fourth aspect of the invention,in which the WB coefficient calculation portion determines WBcoe3, whichis continuously calculated by any one of:

$\begin{matrix}{{{WBcoe}\; 3} = {{{WBcoe}\; 2} + {w\;{1 \cdot ( {{{WBcoe}\; 1} - {{WBcoe}\; 2}} )}}}} \\{= {{w\;{1 \cdot {WBcoe}}\; 1} + {{( {1 - {w\; 1}} ) \cdot {WBcoe}}\; 2}}} \\{= {{{WBcoe}\; 1} + {w\;{2 \cdot ( {{{WBcoe}\; 2} - {{WBcoe}\; 1}} )}}}} \\{= {{{( {1 - {w\; 2}} ) \cdot {WBcoe}}\; 1} + {w\;{2 \cdot {WBcoe}}\; 2}}} \\{= {{w\;{1 \cdot {WBcoe}}\; 1} + {w\;{2 \cdot {WBcoe}}\; 2}}}\end{matrix}$

wherein w1 (0≦w1≦1) is the external light ratio, w2 (0≦w2≦1) is theflashed light ratio, WBcoe1 is the value of the external light WBcoefficient, WBcoe2 is the value of the flashed light WB coefficient,and WBcoe3 is the final WB coefficient;

as the final WB coefficient.

It should be noted that the reason why the final WB coefficient can bereadily calculated as described above is that the mixture ratio w1 or w2can consecutively take on values from 0 to 1 (actual value).

A sixth aspect of the invention is any one of the first through thirdaspects of the invention, in which the WB processing portion includes anexternal light WB correction portion, a flashed light WB correctionportion, and an interpolation portion.

The external light WB correction portion obtains a third image signal byperforming white balance correction on the second image signal, based onthe external light WB coefficient. The flashed light WB correctionportion obtains a fourth image signal by performing white balancecorrection on the second image signal, based on the flashed light WBcoefficient. The interpolation portion obtains the final image signal,which takes on a continuous value, by interpolating the signal value ofthe third image signal and the signal value of the fourth image signal,based on the mixture ratio.

With this configuration as well it is possible to achieve the sameeffects as in the fourth aspect of the invention.

A seventh aspect of the invention is the sixth aspect of the invention,in which the interpolation portion obtains, as the final image signal,an image signal whose signal value is Sout, which is continuouslycalculated by any one of:

$\begin{matrix}{{Sout} = {{S\; 2} + {w\;{1 \cdot ( {{S\; 1} - {S\; 2}} )}}}} \\{= {{w\;{1 \cdot S}\; 1} + {{( {1 - {w\; 1}} ) \cdot S}\; 2}}} \\{= {{S\; 1} + {w\;{2 \cdot ( {{S\; 2} - {S\; 1}} )}}}} \\{= {{{( {1 - {w\; 2}} ) \cdot S}\; 1} + {w\;{2 \cdot S}\; 2}}} \\{= {{w\;{1 \cdot S}\; 1} + {w\;{2 \cdot S}\; 2}}}\end{matrix}$

wherein w1 (0≦w1≦1) is the external light ratio, w2 (0≦w2≦1) is theflashed light ratio, S1 is the signal value of the third image signal,S2 is the signal value of the fourth image signal, and Sout is thesignal value of the final image signal.

With this configuration as well it is possible to achieve the sameeffects as in the fifth aspect of the invention.

An eighth aspect of the invention is the first aspect of the invention,in which the mixture ratio calculation portion calculates an R componentmixture ratio based on a first R image signal, which is the R componentsignal of the first image signal, and a second R image signal, which isthe R component signal of the second image signal, calculates a Gcomponent mixture ratio based on a first G image signal, which is the Gcomponent signal of the first image signal, and a second G image signal,which is the G component signal of the second image signal, andcalculates a B component mixture ratio based on a first B image signal,which is the B component signal of the first image signal, and a secondB image signal, which is the B component signal of the second imagesignal. The external light WB coefficient determination portiondetermines an external light R component WB coefficient, an externallight G component WB coefficient, and an external light B component WBcoefficient from the first R image signal, the first G image signal, andthe first B image signal, respectively. The flashed light WB coefficientsetting portion sets a flashed light R component WB coefficient, aflashed light G component WB coefficient, and a flashed light Bcomponent WB coefficient. The WB processing portion continuouslyperforms white balance correction between the external light R componentWB coefficient, the external light G component WB coefficient, and theexternal light B component WB coefficient; and the flashed light Rcomponent WB coefficient, the flashed light G component WB coefficient,and the flashed light B component WB coefficient, on the second R imagesignal, the second G image signal, and the second B image signal, using,respectively, the R component mixture ratio, the G component mixtureratio, and the B component mixture ratio.

With this white balance adjustment device, the mixture ratio is notcalculated with the luminance (≈0.3R+0.6G+0.1B), but rather the mixtureratios of the three R, G, and B components are calculated and whitebalance adjustment is executed independently for each color, and thusthe precision of white balance adjustment can be increased even further.

A ninth aspect of the invention is any one of the first aspect throughthe eighth aspect of the invention, further including a LPF portion thatperforms low pass filter processing on the mixture ratio, calculating asmoothed mixture ratio. The WB processing portion uses the smoothedmixture ratio as the mixture ratio.

Thus, even if the object being captured or the camera itself movesduring capturing of the two images with and without a flash, andinappropriate WB adjustment is performed in the region with movement andleads to color shifting, the final WB coefficient can be continuouslychanged at the border between the region with movement (region on thecaptured image) and the region without movement (region on capturedimage), and this allows appropriate white balance adjustment to beperformed on the second image signal.

Here, unlike in Japanese Patent Publication 3540485, low-pass filterprocessing can be adopted because, as discussed earlier, the mixtureratio is a linear parameter in which as the external light illumination(or flashed light illumination) increases the ratio thereof increasesproportionately. The flashed light contribution in Japanese PatentPublication 3540485, on the other hand, is a non-linear parameter asalluded to earlier, and thus a linear LPF file cannot be adopted.

It should be noted that here, spatial low pass filter (LPF) processingis preferably performed as the low pass filter processing. As used here,LPF is a concept that is inclusive of compatible LFP filters. Acompatible LPF filter detects regions with movement from the two imageswith and without a flash, or from the difference image of the two, forexample, and performs LPF processing by that amount only.

Here, the mixture ratio can be determined for each pixel by calculatingthe mixture ratio for each pixel of the first image signal and thesecond image signal, and thus low-pass filter processing with a spatialLPF can be executed on the mixture ratios. Thus, sudden changes in thefinal WB coefficient can be inhibited with ease.

It should be noted that with this white balance adjustment device, LPFprocessing is performed on the mixture ratio and is not performed on theimage signals directly, and thus the image itself does not become blurrywhen there has been movement in the captured object.

Thus, this white balance adjustment device further reduces colorshifting and allows for more natural WB adjustment to be performed.

A tenth aspect of the invention is an image capture device including thewhite balance adjustment device according to any one of the firstthrough the ninth aspects of the invention.

An eleventh aspect of the invention is the tenth aspect of theinvention, further provided with a flash emission portion thatirradiates a flashed light onto an object to be captured.

Thus, the properties of the flashed light that is emitted by the flashemission portion are found in advance, and the flashed light WBcoefficient setting portion sets the flashed light WB coefficient basedon those properties, and thus the flashed light WB coefficient can beset more accurately.

A twelfth aspect of the invention is a white balance adjustment methodthat includes a mixture ratio calculation step, an external light WBcoefficient determination step, a flashed light WB coefficient settingstep, and a WB processing step. The mixture ratio calculation stepinvolves calculating a mixture ratio of an external light component anda flashed light component that are present in a second image signal,based on a first image signal that is obtained without irradiating aflashed light on an object to be captured, and a second image signalthat is obtained by illuminating a flashed light on the object to becaptured. The external light WB coefficient determination step involvesdetermining an external light WB coefficient, which is a white balancecoefficient for the external light, from the first image signal. Theflashed light WB coefficient setting step involves setting a flashedlight WB coefficient, which is a white balance coefficient of theflashed light. The WB processing step involves using the mixture ratioas an interpolation ratio to continuously perform white balanceadjustment between the external light WB coefficient and the flashedlight WB coefficient on the second image signal.

It is thus possible to achieve a white balance adjustment method thatattains the same effects as the first aspect of the invention.

A 13th aspect of the invention is a computer-readable storage mediumthat stores a program for causing a computer to function as a mixtureratio calculation portion, an external light WB coefficientdetermination portion, a flashed light WB coefficient setting portion,and a WB processing portion. The mixture ratio calculation portioncalculates a mixture ratio of an external light component and a flashedlight component that are present in a second image signal, based on afirst image signal that is obtained without irradiating a flashed lighton an object to be captured, and a second image signal that is obtainedby illuminating a flashed light on the object to be captured. Theexternal light WB coefficient determination portion determines anexternal light WB coefficient, which is a white balance coefficient forthe external light, from the first image signal. The flashed light WBcoefficient setting portion sets a flashed light WB coefficient, whichis a white balance coefficient of the flashed light. The WB processingportion continuously performs white balance adjustment between theexternal light WB coefficient and the flashed light WB coefficient onthe second image signal by using the mixture ratio as an interpolationratio.

It is thus possible to achieve a computer-readable storage medium thatstores a program that attains the same effects as the first aspect ofthe invention.

A 14th aspect of the invention is an integrated circuit that is providedwith a mixture ratio calculation portion, an external light WBcoefficient determination portion, a flashed light WB coefficientsetting portion, and a WB processing portion. The mixture ratiocalculation portion calculates a mixture ratio of an external lightcomponent and a flashed light component that are present in a secondimage signal, based on a first image signal that is obtained withoutirradiating a flashed light on an object to be captured, and a secondimage signal that is obtained by illuminating a flashed light on theobject to be captured. The external light WB coefficient determinationportion determines an external light WB coefficient, which is a whitebalance coefficient for the external light, from the first image signal.The flashed light WB coefficient setting portion sets a flashed light WBcoefficient, which is a white balance coefficient of the flashed light.The WB processing portion continuously performs white balance adjustmentbetween the external light WB coefficient and the flashed light WBcoefficient on the second image signal by using the mixture ratio as aninterpolation ratio.

It is thus possible to achieve an integrated circuit that attains thesame effects as the first aspect of the invention.

The present invention can achieve a white balance adjustment device, animage capture device, a white balance adjustment method, a storagemedium, and an integrated circuit, that allow the white balance to betheoretically correctly adjusted, do not cause pseudo-borders, andreduce color shifting in regions where the captured object has moved, aswell as allow the white balance to be adjusted easily, and with littlecircuitry, with respect to images that have been captured under lightingconditions with a mixture of external light and flashed light.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is the overall configuration of the image capture device 100 ofthe invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of the structure of the signal processing portion 31and the memory portion 32 of the image capture device 100 according tothe first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of the structure of the signal processing portion31′ and the memory portion 32 of the image capture device 100 accordingto the first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of the structure of the WB adjustment portion 312according to the first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is an example of the structure of the WB coefficient calculationportion 3125 according to the first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram that schematically shows the structure of the WBadjustment portion 312A of the image capture device according to amodified example of the first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of the structure of the WB adjustment portion 412according to the second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of the structure of the WB adjustment portion 412Aaccording to the modified example of the second embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 9 is a table that shows the calculated results of WB adjustment inthe first embodiment and the second embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention are described below in reference to thedrawings.

First Embodiment 1.1: Configuration of Image Capture Device

First, the image capture device according to the first embodiment isdescribed.

FIG. 1 schematically shows the configuration of an image capture device100 (such as a digital camera) according to the first embodiment of theinvention. FIG. 2 schematically shows the configurations of a signalprocessing portion 31 and a memory portion 32. FIG. 4 schematicallyshows the configuration of a WB adjustment portion 312 serving as thewhite balance adjustment device.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image capture device 100 is provided with animage capture lens 11 that focuses light from an object to capture P1,an diaphragm 12 for adjusting the amount of light from the object tocapture P1 that is focused by the image capture lens 11, an imagecapture portion (image capture element) 13 that obtains light from theobject to capture P1 as an image signal (video signal) by photoelectrictransformation, an analog signal processing portion 2 for performinganalog processing on the image signal that is obtained by the imagecapture portion 13, a digital signal processing portion 3 that executesdigital signal processing on the image signal that has been subjected toanalog signal processing, and a flash emission portion 4 that irradiatesa flashed light onto the object to capture P1.

The image capture portion 13 obtains the light from the object tocapture P1 that has been focused by the image capture lens 11 and thathas passed through the diaphragm 12 as an image signal (video signal)through photoelectric conversion. The image capture portion 13 outputsthe image signal that it has obtained to the analog signal processingportion 2. It is preferable to use a CCD-type image sensor or aCMOS-type image sensor as the image capture portion 13.

The analog signal processing portion 2 receives the image signal that isoutput by the image capture portion 13, performs analog signalprocessing on the image signal that has been output by the image captureportion 13, converts the image signal that has been subjected to analogsignal processing into a digital image signal, and outputs this to thedigital signal processing portion 3. The analog signal processingportion 2 is achieved by an analog circuit known as a camera front end,and primarily is made from a correlated double sampling (CDS) circuit21, a gain control amplifier (GCA) circuit 22, and an A/D converter 23.

The digital signal processing portion 3 has a signal processing portion31 that performs predetermined signal processing on image signals thatare output from the analog signal processing portion 2, a memory portion32 that stores output from the signal processing portion 31, and a codecportion 33 that encodes image signals stored in the memory portion 32and decodes image data (encoded image data) from recording media such asa memory card 6. The digital signal processing portion 3 furtherincludes a control portion 34 that variously controls the functionalcomponents of the digital signal processing portion 3, a display portioncontrol portion 35 that controls the display portion 5, a card I/F 36that is an interface for inputting and outputting data (signals) withrespect to the memory card 6, a flash emission control portion 37 thatcontrols the flash emission portion 4, and a bus 38 that connects thevarious functional components of the signal processing portion 3 viabus. It should be noted that in this embodiment, the various functionalcomponents of the signal processing portion 3 are connected by the bus38 as shown in FIG. 1, but the functional components of the signalprocessing portion 3 do not always have to be connected by a bus, andinstead it is of course also possible to adopt a configuration in whichthe various functional blocks are connected directly so that requireddata (signals) can be exchanged.

As shown in FIG. 2, the signal processing portion 31 has a first signalprocessing portion 311, a WB adjustment portion 312, a second signalprocessing portion 313, and a switch 314.

The first signal processing portion 311 receives an image signal thathas been output from the analog signal processing portion 2, andexecutes processing such as dynamic range compression or pixelinterpolation on the image signal that is output from the analog signalprocessing portion 2. The first signal processing portion 311 thenoutputs the processed image signal to the memory portion 32. The firstsignal processing portion 311 also outputs the processed image signal tothe switch 314.

The WB adjustment portion 312 has a mixture ratio calculation portion3121, a LPF (low pass filter) portion 3122, an external light WBcoefficient determination portion 3123, a flashed light WB coefficientsetting portion 3124, and a WB processing portion 3120. The WBprocessing portion 3120 includes a WB coefficient calculation portion3125 and a WB correction portion 3126.

The WB adjustment portion 312 receives an image signal that is obtainedunder imaging conditions in which there is a flashed light (this imagesignal is referred to as “image signal b” or “image data b”) and that isoutput from the memory portion 32, and an image signal that is obtainedunder image capture conditions in which there is not a flashed light(this image signal is referred to as “image signal a” or “image data a”)and that is output from the memory portion 32, and performs WBadjustment on the image signal b based on the image signal a and theimage signal b, and outputs the WB-adjusted image signal b to the secondsignal processing portion 313 via the switch 314.

It should be noted that below, the mixture ratio is described as if itis the external light ratio, but a case in which it is the flashed lightratio is different only in that the values that are interpolated areswitched, and thus such a case will not be described.

The mixture ratio calculation portion 3121 receives the image signal aand the image signal b that are output from the memory portion 32, andcalculates a mixture ratio W0 from the image signal a and the imagesignal b through:W0=a/bsuch that 0≦W0≦1, and outputs the calculated mixture ratio W0 to the LPFportion 3122. Here, the image signal b is an image signal that isobtained by the image capture device 100 by imaging the object tocapture P1 while emitting a flash, whereas the image signal a is animage signal that is obtained by imaging the object to capture P1without emitting a flash (same applies hereinafter). Since the imagesignal b is an image signal captured with a flash and the image signal ais an image signal that is captured without a flash, with regard to thesame pixel the relationship between the signal level (pixel value) a ofthe image signal a and the signal level (pixel value) b of the imagesignal b is such that b≧a, and therefore by setting W0 equal to a/b, thevalue of W0 becomes a value (real value) within the range of 0 to 1.

The LPF portion 3122 receives the mixture ratio W0 that has beenestimated (calculated) by the mixture ratio calculation portion 3121,and performs LPF processing on the mixture ratio and outputs the mixtureratio that is obtained by LPF processing (smoothed mixture ratio) as Wto the WB coefficient calculation portion 3125.

The external light WB coefficient determination portion 3123 receivesthe image signal a and calculates a WB coefficient for the image signala from that image signal a and outputs the image signal a WB coefficientthat has been calculated to the WB coefficient calculation portion 3125.Here, the image signal a is an image signal that has been obtained byimaging without a flash, and thus the WB coefficient that is calculatedby the external light WB coefficient determination portion 3123 becomesthe WB coefficient for the external light.

The flashed light WB coefficient setting portion 3124 sets a WBcoefficient for the image signal that is obtained by imaging with aflash (flashed light WB coefficient). The flashed light WB coefficientsetting portion 3124 outputs the flashed light WB coefficient that hasbeen set to the WB coefficient calculation portion 3125. The flashedlight WB coefficient is set based on a WB coefficient that is obtainedin advance for the flashed light that is used by the image capturedevice 100. For example, because the properties of the flashed lightthat is emitted from the flash emission portion 4 of the image capturedevice 100 can be known in advance (the properties can be found byactual measurement), the flashed light WB coefficient can be found fromthose properties, that flashed light WB coefficient can be stored in aROM (not shown), etc., of the image capture device 100, and the flashedlight WB coefficient can be read onto the flashed light WB coefficientsetting portion 3124.

The WB coefficient calculation portion 3125 receives the external lightWB coefficient that is output from the external light WB coefficientdetermination portion 3123, the flashed light WB coefficient that isoutput from the flashed light WB coefficient setting portion 3124, andthe mixture ratio (smoothed mixture ratio) W that is output from the LPFportion 3122, and interpolates the external light WB coefficient and theflashed light WB coefficient based on the mixture ratio (smoothedmixture ratio) W in order to calculate a WB coefficient, and thenoutputs the calculated WB coefficient to the WB correction portion 3126.

FIG. 5 shows one example of the configuration of the WB coefficientcalculation portion 3125. As shown in FIG. 5, the WB coefficientcalculation portion 3125 has a subtracter 51, a multiplier 52, and anadder 53.

The subtracter 51 receives the external light WB coefficient WBcoe1 thatis output from the external light WB coefficient determination portion3123 and the flashed light WB coefficient WBcoe2 that is output from theflashed light WB coefficient setting portion 3124, and outputs theresult of subtracting the two (WBcoe1−WBcoe2) to the multiplier 52.

The multiplier 52 receives the output of the subtracter 51 and themixture ratio (smoothed mixture ratio) W that is output from the LPF3122, and outputs the result of multiplying the twoW·(WBcoe1−WBcoe2)to the adder 53.

The adder 53 receives the flashed light WB coefficient WBcoe2 and theoutput of the multiplier 52 that is W−(WBcoe1−WBcoe2), and outputs theresult of summing the twoWBcoe2+W·(WBcoe1−WBcoe2)to the WB correction portion 3126. Here, the output from the adder 53 isequivalent toW·WBcoe1+(1−W)·WBcoe2.In other words, with the configuration shown in FIG. 5, the WBcoefficient calculation portion 3125 can perform an interpolationcomputation with the mixture ratio (smoothed mixture ratio) W is theinterpolation ratio. It should be noted that the WB coefficientcalculation portion 3125 is not limited to the configuration of FIG. 5,and it may take on another configuration as long as it accomplishessimilar interpolation processing.

The WB correction portion 3126 receives the image signal b that isoutput from the first signal processing portion 311 and the WBcoefficient that is output from the WB coefficient calculation portion3125. The WB correction portion 3126 performs WB correction on the imagesignal b based on the WB coefficient and outputs the WB-corrected imagesignal to the second signal processing portion 313 via the switch 314.

The switch 314 selects one of either the image signal that is outputfrom the first signal processing portion 311 and the image signal thatis output from the WB adjustment portion 312 based on the switch signalfrom the control portion 34, and inputs this to the second signalprocessing portion 313. The switch 314 is a so-called selector. In theimage capture device 100, the switch 314 performs a switching operation(selection operation) when WB adjustment is being executed such that theoutput of the WB adjustment portion 312 is input to the second signalprocessing portion 313.

The second signal processing portion 313 receives the image signal thatis output from the switch 314 and executes processing such as γcorrection, color correction, noise reduction, and border enhancement onthe image signal that has been output from the switch 314 and outputsthe result to the memory portion 32.

It should be noted that the various processes that are performed by thefirst signal processing portion 311 and the second signal processingportion 313 are examples, and of course there are no limitations tothose described above.

Based on commands from the control portion 34, the memory portion 32stores the image signals output from the first signal processing portion311 and outputs stored image signals to the WB adjustment portion 312.The memory portion 32 also stores image signals that are output from thesecond signal processing portion 313 to a separate region from thememory region in which the image signals that are output from the firstsignal processing portion 311 are stored. It should be noted that thememory portion 32 can also store image signals that have been encoded bythe codec portion 33. The memory portion 32 can also output stored imagesignals, etc., to the signal processing portion 31 and the displayportion control portion 35, for example, via the bus 38.

The codec portion 33 performs encoding processing (encoding by JPEG, forexample) on image signals that are output from the memory portion 32(image signals output from the second signal processing portion 313 andstored on the memory portion 32), and outputs the image signals thathave been subjected to encoding (hereinafter, “encoded image signals”)to recording media such as the memory card 6 via the card I/F 36. Thecodec portion 33 also performs decoding processing (decoding by JPEG,for example) on the encoded image signals that are output from recordingmedia such as the memory card 6, and outputs the result to the signalprocessing portion 31, the memory portion 32, and the display portioncontrol portion 35, for example.

The control portion 34 variously controls the functional components ofthe digital signal processing portion 3. As the control portion 34 it ispreferable to use a microprocessor, for example.

The display portion control portion 35 receives as input the imagesignals output from the signal processing portion 31, image signalsdecoded by the codec portion 33, and image signals output from thememory portion 32, for example. The display portion control portion 35writes the image data that are input to a VRAM (Video RAM) (not shown),for example, so that a two-dimensional image is displayed on the displayportion 5 (display device such as a LCD display).

The card I/F 36 is an interface for communicating data (signals) withthe memory card 6. Through the card I/F 36, image signals output fromthe signal processing portion 31, image signals that have been encodedby the codec portion 33, and image signals stored on the memory portion32, for example, are output and written to the memory card 6.

The flash emission control portion 37, based on commands from thecontrol portion 34, controls the timing of the emission of flashes bythe flash emission portion 4, the length of flash emission, and theamount of flashed light.

The flash emission portion 4 irradiates flashed light onto the object tocapture P1 under control by the flash emission control portion 37.

1.2: Operation of Image Capture Device

The operation of the image capture device 100 having the foregoingconfiguration is described below.

The light that is reflected by the object that is being imaged isfocused onto the image capture portion (image capture element) 13 by theimage capture lens 11 and obtained as an image signal (video signal)through photoelectric conversion. The amount of light that is focused onthe image capture portion (image capture element) 13 is adjusted by thediaphragm 12 and a shutter, which is not shown, that are provided on thelight path. Image focus (focus control) by the image capture lens 11 isachieved by moving the image capture lens 11 forward and backward (inthe forward-backward direction on the light path) through an auto focusfunction or by a manual focus function. The diaphragm 12 is controlledby commands (control signals) from the control portion 34, and adjuststhe aperture for an appropriate exposure. Here, in FIG. 1, the imagecapture lens 11 is made of a single lens, but in practice, a lens groupof a plurality of lenses is used. There is an even greater number oflenses if it is a zoom lens.

The shutter, which has not been diagramed, may be a mechanical shutteror a so-called electric shutter that adjusts the light amount in accordwith the drive timing of the image capture portion (image captureelement) 13.

The image that is focused on the image capture portion 13 (here, theimage capture portion 13 is described as a CCD-type image sensor with2048×1536 pixels that has a color filter divided by R (red), G (green),and B (blue), but of course the image capture portion 13 can also be animage capture element with a different number of pixels or format (suchas a CMOS-type sensor)) is converted into an analog image signal andthis is output from the image capture portion 13 to the analog signalprocessing portion 2.

The image signals that are output from the image capture portion 13 havetheir sampling noise reduced by the correlated double sampling (CDS)circuit 21 of the analog signal processing portion 2, the signal levelis adjusted by the analog amplifier (GCA) portion 22, and they areconverted to digital image signals (image data) by the A/D converter 23.The pixel data (image data) (for example, a 12 bit digital signal havinga gradation level from 0 to 4095) that have been A/D converted by theA/D converter 23 are output to the signal processing portion 31 of thedigital signal processing portion 3 as digital image signals.

The image data (image signal), which are subjected to various processingby the signal processing portion 31 as described later, are written tothe memory portion 32, encoded by JPEG compression or the like by thecodec portion 33, header information is added by the control portion 34,and written to recording media such as the memory card 6 via the cardI/F 36 as image data (image signal) in the Exif file format, forexample. It should be noted that the data that are written to the memoryportion 32 can also be data (image signals) encoded by the codec portion33. There are no limitations regarding where the Exif file format imagedata (image signals) are recorded, and for example, it is of coursepossible for this to be a HDD (hard disk drive) installed within theimage capture device.

The image data written to the memory card 6 are displayed on the displayportion 5, such as a LCD display device, by the display portion controlportion 35 under control by the control portion 34.

The image signals that are input to the signal processing portion 31 arespecifically subjected to dynamic range compression, white balancecorrection, pixel interpolation, γ correction, color correction, noisereduction, and border enhancement, for example. It should be noted thatthe order in which these processes are conducted can be variouslychanged.

R, G, and B color filters are disposed dispersed at the pixels of theimage capture portion (image capture element) 13, and the image signalsobtained at the pixels do not have any R, G, or B information. Thus,through pixel interpolation, image signals having information on the twocolors that were not received by the respective pixels are estimated(calculated) through interpolation from the surrounding pixels (pixelvalues). Thus, a R component signal, a G component signal, and a Bcomponent signal can be obtained as the image signals for each pixel ofthe image capture portion (image capture element) 13.

γ correction is so-called gamma correction that is performed on theimage data (image signals), and normally γ correction is performed onthe image signals with γ=1/2.2.

Color correction involves conversion of RGB values that are determinedby the properties of the color filters of the image capture portion(image capture element) 13 into RGB values of a normalized color space(a color space defined by NTSC or sRGB, for example).

Noise reduction involves distinguishing noise from the amplitude andfrequency, for example, of the image signals, and reducing the noisethat has been distinguished.

Border enhancement is for producing an image with resolution bycompensating for the drop in MTF (modulation transfer function) due tothe effects of the aperture (lens opening) or diaphragm 12 of the imagecapture lens 11.

<<White Balance Adjustment Method>>

The white balance adjustment (WB adjustment) method that is executed bythe WB adjustment portion 312 is described next.

First, when the user presses the release button (not diagrammed) of theimage capture device 100, the image capture device 100 captures animage, without emitting a flash, under image capture conditions such asthe diaphragm value and shutter speed value that have been set by anexposure determining means that is not shown. The image data a (imagesignal a) that are captured are stored in the memory portion 32.

Next, the image capture device 100 captures an image after emitting aflash under image capture conditions such as the diaphragm value and theshutter speed value that have been similarly set. The image data b(image signal b) that are captured are stored in a separate region ofthe memory portion 32.

Next, the external light WB coefficient determination portion 3123 findsthe WB coefficient WBcoe1 based on the image data a that were capturedwithout emitting a flash, and outputs this to the WB coefficientcalculation portion 3125. At this time, external light is the only lighton the object to be captured because a flash is not emitted, and thenormal WB coefficient for when a flash is not emitted can be determinedby the external light WB coefficient determination portion 3123. Thus,the external light WB coefficient WBcoe1 can also be determined withoutusing the image data a, and instead the image capture device 100 can beprovided with a color sensor for assessing the color of the externallight, and then the WB coefficient WBcoe1 can be determined based on theresults of that color assessment.

Next, the flashed light WB coefficient setting portion 3124 outputs theflashed light WB coefficient WBcoe2, which is set in advance based onthe properties of the flashed light, to the WB coefficient calculationportion 3125.

Next, the luminance of the pixels corresponding to the image data a andthe image data b stored in the memory portion 32 is output to themixture ratio calculation portion 3121.

The mixture ratio calculation portion 3121 finds the mixture ratio W0(=a/b) by dividing the image data a, which were captured withoutemitting a flash, by the image data b, which were captured with emissionof a flash. For each pixel, the mixture ratio W0 that is found takes oncontinuous value from 0.0 to 1.0 (digital value with predeterminedprecision) depending on the balance (ratio) of the strength of theexternal light and the flashed light. At this time, the mixture ratio W0value is 0.0 in regions where only the flashed light is reflected by thecaptured object, and the mixture ratio W0 value is 1.0 in regions whereonly the external light is reflected by the captured object.

It should be noted that the luminance of the image data a and the imagedata b that is input to the mixture ratio calculation portion 3121 canbe a luminance value Y that is expressed by Equation 1, for example, orit is possible to use any one of the R component value, G componentvalue, and B component value.Y=0.3×R+0.6×G+0.1×B  [Eq. 1]

The LPF portion 3122 subjects the mixture ratio W0 to a spatial low passfiltering process that is already known in the art.

Since the image captured with a flash and the image captured without aflash are captured at different times, if the captured object movesduring that interval, then the mixture ratio W0 becomes a differentvalue from the balance (ratio) of the strength of the flashed light andthe external light originally hoped to be obtained. Thus, rather thanusing the mixture ratio W0 that has been obtained as is in order todetermine the WB coefficient, the fact that the mixture ratio W0 isfound each pixel in correspondence with the image that is captured isexploited, and a spatial low pass filter is applied to the mixture ratioW0. By dong this, the final WB coefficient WBcoe3 can be changed in acontinuous and gentle manner. Further, having the LPF portion 3122 applya low pass filter to the mixture ratio W0 allows adverse effects due tomovement of the captured object to be reduced. In other words, it istherefore possible to curtail inaccurate WB adjustment of image regionsin which the captured object has moved.

Next, the mixture ratio W that has been output from the LPF portion 3122is output to the WB coefficient calculation portion 3125. The WBcoefficient calculation portion 3125 interpolates the WB coefficientWBcoe1, which is output from the external light WB coefficientdetermination portion 3123 and is determined in accordance with theexternal light, and the WB coefficient WBcoe2, which is output from theflashed light WB coefficient setting portion 3124 and is set inaccordance with the flashed light, through Equation 2 using the mixtureratio W as the interpolation ratio, calculating the final WB coefficientWBcoe3, and outputs the result.Kr3=Kr1×W+Kr2×(1−W)Kg3=Kg1×W+Kg2×(1−W)Kb3=Kb1×W+Kb2×(1−W)  [Eq. 2]

Here, Kr1 is the conversion coefficient of the WB coefficient WBcoe1 forthe R signal, Kg1 is the conversion coefficient of the WB coefficientWBcoe1 for the G signal, Kb1 is the conversion coefficient of the WBcoefficient WBcoe1 for the B signal, Kr2 is the conversion coefficientof the WB coefficient WBcoe2 for the R signal, Kg2 is the conversioncoefficient of the WB coefficient WBcoe2 for the G signal, Kb2 is theconversion coefficient of the WB coefficient WBcoe2 for the B signal,Kr3 is the conversion coefficient of the WB coefficient WBcoe3 for the Rsignal, Kg3 is the conversion coefficient of the WB coefficient WBcoe3for the G signal, and Kb3 is the conversion coefficient of the WBcoefficient WBcoe3 for B signal.

Thus, the WB coefficient WBcoe2 that matches the flashed light is usedfor pixels illuminated by only the flashed light (including pixels whereillumination by the flashed light is dominant) (mixture ratio W=0.0),and the WB coefficient WBcoe1 for the external light is used for pixelshardly reached by the flashed light and that are illuminated by only theexternal light (mixture ratio W=1.0). In pixels illuminated by both theexternal light and the flashed light, a WB coefficient WBcoe3 that isintermediate between the WB coefficient WBcoe1 and the WB coefficientWBcoe2 is used according to the amount of contribution of each of lightsource.

Next, the WB coefficients WBcoe3 that are found for each pixel are inputto the WB correction portion 3126.

The WB correction portion 3126 performs a final WB adjustment of theimage data b, which were captured with a flash, by multiplying theconversion coefficients Kr3, Kg3, and Kb3 for each of the signals of theR, G, and B components of the WB coefficient WBcoe3. Then, the imagedata b that have been subjected to this final WB adjustment (correction)are output from the WB correction portion 3126.

The image signal b (image data b) output from the WB correction portion3126 is input to the second signal processing portion 313, where it issubjected to processing such as γ correction, color correction, noisereduction, and border enhancement, and the result is output to thememory portion 32.

The image signals that are output to the memory portion 32 are writtento the memory portion 32, encoded by JPEG compression or the like by thecodec portion 33, header information is added by the control portion 34,and they are written to recording media such as the memory card 6 viathe card I/F 36 as image data (image signal) in the Exif file format,for example.

Thus, the image capture device 100 allows for appropriate white balanceadjustment to be carried out easily, and with little circuitry, onimages that have been captured under lighting conditions that have amixture of external light and flashed light, and also minimizes theimpact of movement by the captured object, for example, so thatappropriate white balance adjustment can be carried out.

The above foregoing processing assumes that the image captured with aflash and the image captured without a flash are captured under the sameexposure settings. This is because it will not be possible to directlycompare the luminance of two images captured by the image capture device100 if the exposure settings are different. Capturing images such thatthe exposure settings are identical may lead to image regions that imagethe captured object becoming completely over exposed (the tone levels ofpixels in the image regions become saturated level (white level)) if,for example, the distance to the captured object is shorter in the imagethat is captured with the flash. Similarly, images that are capturedwithout emitting a flash may become totally underexposed (the tonelevels of pixels in some regions become black level) or the S/N ratiomay drop.

Accordingly, the image captured with the flash and the image capturedwithout the flash are captured under different exposure settings.Although in this case the captured images cannot be compared directly,it is possible to find the relationship between the light amount underthe respective image capture conditions from the diaphragm value, theshutter speed, and the ISO gain value (the gain value for the ISOsensitivity (index for the film sensitivity; a numeric evaluation of thesensitivity of the film to light as set by the ISO (InternationalOrganization for Standardization)). In other words, the image data thatare obtained by imaging in which a flash is emitted and the image datathat are obtained by imaging in which a flash is not emitted are bothcorrected based on the exposure settings at the time the image wascaptured (corrected such that the exposure settings are cancelled out),and with the corrected image data the mixture ratio W0 is found in thesame manner as discussed above. Then, using the mixture ratio W0 thusfound to carry out the processing discussed above, it is possible toperform appropriate WB adjustment even in instances where images arecaptured under different exposure settings.

Further, the above description is of a case in which the image captureoperation is explicitly performed in order to obtain the image data a,which are obtained by imaging without a flash, but the image data a,which are obtained by imaging without a flash, may only be used tocompute the mixture ratio W0 in order to find the final WB coefficientWBcoe3.

For this reason, it is not necessary for the image data a to have asmany pixels as the image data that are captured using a flash, and thesame results as those described above can be obtained also in a case inwhich the image data a are kept in the memory portion 32 as reducedimage data and expanded when it is necessary to calculate the mixtureratio W0, and then the same processing as described above is performed.

By doing this, the amount of memory in the memory portion 32 that isrequired for storing the image data a can be reduced.

The signal processing portion 31 may be replaced with the structure of asignal processing portion 31′ as shown in FIG. 3. That is, the signalprocessing portion 31′ can have a configuration in which the imagesignal (image data) output from the first signal processing portion 311is input to the WB adjustment portion 312 as image data b. By adoptingthis configuration, it is no longer necessary to explicitly captureimages without a flash, and the image data that correspond to the livepreview image that is displayed on the view finder prior to pressing theshutter button are input to the WB adjustment portion 312 as image datab, and by the image capture device 100 executing the same processing asabove, it is possible to appropriately perform WB adjustment of theimage data b.

Thus, it is possible to reduce the difference in the time of capturebetween the captured image that is obtained under flash-less conditions(that is, the live view image that is displayed on the view finder priorto pressing the shutter button) and the image that is captured withemission of a flash, and thus negative impact due to movement of theobject being captured can be reduced.

Modified Example

Next, an image capture device according to a modified example of thefirst embodiment is described.

FIG. 6 schematically shows the configuration of a WB adjustment portion312A of the image capture device according to this modified example.

The image capture device of this modified example is the image capturedevice 100 according to the first embodiment, except that its WBprocessing portion 3120 has been substituted with the WB processingportion 3120A that is shown in FIG. 6. Apart from this, it is identicalto the image capture device 100 according to the first embodiment, andthus will not be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 6, the WB processing portion 3120A is provided with anexternal light WB correction portion 3127, a flashed light WB correctionportion 3128, and an interpolation portion 3129.

The external light WB correction portion 3127 receives the image data b(the image data when there is flashed light) and the external light WBcoefficient WBcoe1 that is output from the external light WB coefficientdetermination portion 3123. The external light WB correction portion3127 performs white balance correction (WB correction) on the image datab using the external light WB coefficient WBcoe1. Then, the image datathat have been subjected to this WB correction for the external light(the image data are referred to as “image data c1”) are output to theinterpolation portion 3129.

The flashed light WB correction portion 3128 receives the image data b(the image data when there is flashed light) and the flashed light WBcoefficient WBcoe2 that is output from the flashed light WB coefficientsetting portion 3124. The flashed light WB correction portion 3128performs white balance correction (WB correction) on the image data busing the flashed light WB coefficient WBcoe2. Then, the image data thathave been subjected to this WB correction for flashed light (the imagedata are referred to as “image data c2”) are output to the interpolationportion 3129.

The interpolation portion 3129 receives the image data c1 that areoutput from the external light WB correction portion 3127, the imagedata c2 that are output from the flashed light WB correction portion3128, and the mixture ratio (smoothed mixture ratio) W that is outputfrom the LPF 3122. The interpolation portion 3129 then internallydivides the image data c1 and the image data c2 with the mixture ratio(smoothed mixture ratio) W serving as the interpolation ratio. In otherwords, the interpolation portion 3129 obtains an image signal (imagedata) in which, if Sout is the output signal (output image data) fromthe interpolation portion 3129, then Sout as calculated bySout=W·c1+(1−W)·c2is the signal value. The interpolation portion 3129 then outputs theimage signal (image data) that is obtained to the switch 314. Thesubsequent processing is identical to the processing already describedabove, and thus id not be described here.

Thus, with the image capture device according to this modified exampleit is possible for appropriate white balance adjustment to be carriedout easily, and with little circuitry, on images that have been capturedunder lighting conditions with a mixture of external light and flashedlight, and also the impact of movement by the captured object, forexample, is minimized so that appropriate white balance adjustment canbe carried out.

Second Embodiment

In the first embodiment of the invention, the luminance value of theimage data that are captured with emitting a flash and the luminance ofthe image data captured without emitting a flash are used to find asingle mixture ratio W0 (or smoothed mixture ratio W) for each pixel.The second embodiment of the invention describes an implementation inwhich mixture ratios (or smoothed mixture ratios) that correspond to theR component, G component, and B component of the image data are foundfor each pixel, and this is described using FIGS. 1 and 7. It should benoted that the image capture device according to this embodiment differsfrom the image capture device 100 of the first embodiment in that the WBadjustment portion 312 is replaced with a WB adjustment portion 412. Inother regards it is identical to the image capture device 100 accordingto the first embodiment, and thus is not described. FIG. 7 illustrateshow a WB processing portion 4120 is made from a WB coefficientcalculation portion 4125 and a WB correction portion 4126.

In general, WB adjustment is carried out such that if, for example, theillumination lighting color temperature is high, that is, if the Bcomponent light is stronger than the light of the other R and Gcomponents of the illumination lighting, then adjustment (WB adjustment)is performed by lowering the gain for the B component signal in order tosubstantially equalize the signals for the R, G, and B components in theimage data that are obtained when a white object is imaged.

However, although the WB coefficient is accurate when there is onlyflashed light or only external light, there is no guarantee when thosetwo light sources are mixed that the WB coefficient will be a simpleinterpolated value of the WB coefficients for those two light sources.In practice, since the two light sources have different colortemperatures, it is not possible to perform correct WB adjustment basedon those two luminance values.

This problem does not occur when the two light sources share the samecolor temperature, and indeed, the problem that this invention strivesto solve would not exist if the two shared the same color temperature inthe first place. The WB coefficients for the flashed light and theexternal light would be identical if the two were the same colortemperature, and the final WB coefficients that are obtained byinterpolating with the mixture ratio would be the same. Thus it is notnecessary to switch the processing based on whether or not the flashedlight and the external light are different color temperatures.

FIG. 7 shows the configuration of a white balance adjustment portion (WBadjustment portion) 412 according to this embodiment.

In this embodiment, the two image data sets of image data b, which areobtained through imaging with the emission of a flash, and image data a,which are obtained through imaging without the emission of a flash, arestored in the memory portion 32, and the processing up throughdetermination of the WB coefficient WBcoe1 in accordance with theexternal light is the same as in the first embodiment and thus will notbe described.

The R component value, the G component value, and the B component valueof the pixels corresponding image data a and the image data b stored inthe memory portion 32 are each output to a mixture ratio calculationportion 4121. The mixture ratio calculation portion 4121 divides thesignals (signal values) for the R component, G component, and Bcomponent of the image data a, which are obtained through imagingwithout the emission of a flash, by the signals (signal values) for theR component, G component, and B component of the image data b, which areobtained through imaging with the emission of a flash, to obtain mixtureratios Wr0, Wg0, and Wb0 for the R component, G component, and Bcomponent signals, respectively.

Next, the mixture ratio calculation portion 4121 outputs the mixtureratios Wr0, Wg0, and Wb0 to a LPF portion for R 4122 r, a LPF portionfor G 4122 g, and a LPF portion for B 4122 b, respectively. The LPFportion for R 4122 r, the LPF portion for G 4122 g, and the LPF portionfor B 4122 b execute a well-known spatial low pass filter processing onthe mixture ratios Wr0, Wg0, and Wb0.

Next, the LPF portion for R 4122 r, the LPF portion for G 4122 g, andthe LPF portion for B 4122 b output mixture ratios (smoothed mixtureratios) Wr, Wg, and Wb to the WB coefficient calculation portion 4125.The WB coefficient calculation portion 4125 interpolates, according toEquation 3, the external light WB coefficients WBcoe1 (Kr1, Kb1, andKg1), which are determined according to the external light, and theflashed light WB coefficients WBcoe2 (Kr2, Kb2, and Kg2), which are setin advance based on the properties of the flashed light, using themixture ratios Wr, Wg, and Wb as interpolation ratios in order todetermine final WB coefficients WBcoe3 (Kr3, Kb3, and Kg3), and outputsthese to the WB correction portion 4126.Kr3=Kr1×Wr+Kr2×(1−Wr)Kg3=Kg1×Wg+Kg2×(1−Wg)Kb3=Kb1×Wb+Kb2×(1−Wb)  [Eq. 3]

Here, Kr1 is the conversion coefficient of the WB coefficient WBcoe1 forthe R component signal, Kg1 is the conversion coefficient of the WBcoefficient WBcoe1 for the G component signal, Kb1 is the conversioncoefficient of the WB coefficient WBcoe1 for the B component signal, Kr2is the conversion coefficient of the WB coefficient WBcoe2 for the Rcomponent signal, Kg2 is the conversion coefficient of the WBcoefficient WBcoe2 for the G component signal, Kb2 is the conversioncoefficient of the WB coefficient WBcoe2 for the B component signal, Kr3is the conversion coefficient of the WB coefficient WBcoe3 for the Rcomponent signal, Kg3 is the conversion coefficient of the WBcoefficient WBcoe3 for the G component signal, and Kb3 is the conversioncoefficient of the WB coefficient WBcoe3 for B component signal.

It should be noted that a specific example of the configuration of theWB coefficient calculation portion 4125 can be achieved by providing thesame configuration as that shown in FIG. 5 for each of R, G, and B.

Next, the WB coefficients WBcoe3 that are found for each pixel are inputto the WB correction portion 4126. The WB correction portion 4126multiplies the image data b, which is obtained through imaging takenwith a flash, by the conversion coefficients Kr3, Kg3, and Kb3respectively corresponding to the signals for the R component, Gcomponent, and B component of the WB coefficient WBcoe3, and by doing soperforms the final WB adjustment on the image data b. The image data bthat have been subjected to this final WB adjustment (correction) areoutput from the WB correction portion 4126.

The image signal b (image data b) is output from the WB correctionportion 4126 to the second signal processing portion 313, which executesprocessing such as γ correction, color correction, noise reduction, andborder enhancement, and outputs the result to the memory portion 32.

The image signals that are output to the memory portion 32 are writtento the memory portion 32, encoded by JPEG compression or the like by thecodec portion 33, the control portion 34 adds header information, andthey written to recording media such as the memory card 6 via the cardI/F 36 as image data (image signal) in the Exif file format, forexample.

FIG. 9 is a chart that compares the result of WB adjustment in the firstembodiment of the invention, and the result of WB adjustment in thesecond embodiment of the invention, with actual numbers. FIG. 9A showsthe result of WB adjustment according to the first embodiment, and FIG.9B shows the result of WB adjustment according to the second embodiment,when image data are obtained for the same position through imaging withthe emission of a flash and imaging without the emission of a flash, andFIG. 9C shows the flashed light WB coefficient and the external light WBcoefficient in this calculated example.

First, the calculations (processing results) made according to the firstembodiment of the invention are described using FIG. 9A.

The chart shown in FIG. 9A from left to right describes each stage, fromthe two input images to the final WB-adjusted output image, in thatorder. Here, the data values in the column labeled Flash OFF Image arethe R component value (value in Ra column), the G component value (valuein Ga column), and the B component value (value in Ba column) of a givenpixel in the image that has been captured without emitting the flash.Similarly, the data values in the column labeled Flash ON Image are theR component value (value in Rb column), the G component value (value inGb column), and the B component value (value in Bb column) of a givenpixel in the image that has been captured with the flash.

The Ya column lists luminance values Ya for the Ra value, Ga value, andBa value that are listed in the same row, and the Yb column listsluminance values Yb for the Rb value, Gb value, and Bb value that arelisted in the same row.

The Mixture Ratio column lists the W value of the balance (ratio) Wbetween the flashed light and the external light, and as can beunderstood from the data of this column, the first row is for a case inwhich there is no outside light and only flashed light, and progressingdownward the rows show an altered balance (ratio), such that the finalrow lists data values for a case in which there is no flashed light andonly outside light.

Both images (the flash off image and the flash on image) are pixelvalues assuming that a white object is being imaged. Thus, in the flashon image the WB coefficients WBcoe1 (Kr1, Kg1, and Kb1) for externallight and the pixel values (Ra, Ga, and Ba) have the followingrelationship.Kr1×Ra=Kg1×Ga=Kb1×Ba  [Eq. 4]

The first row of data in the area of FIG. 9A where data are listed inthe table are data values that have been captured under the condition ofno external light and flashed light only. Thus, in the flash on imagethe WB coefficients WBcoe2 (Kr2, Kg2, and Kb2) of the flashed light andthe pixel values (Rb, Gb, and Bb) have the following relationship.Kr2×Rb=Kg2×Gb=Kb2×Bb  [Eq. 5]

Next, the luminance values Ya are found with Eq. 1 from the R componentvalue, the G component value, and the B component value of the flash offimage. The luminance values Yb are similarly found for the flash onimage.

Next, the luminance values Ya of the flash off image are divided by theluminance values Yb of the flash on image in order to obtain mixtureratios W. The data values in the mixture ratio W column of FIG. 9A showthat the mixture ratio W of the first row, in which there was noexternal light and only flashed light, is 0.0, whereas the mixture ratioW of the last row, in which there was no flashed light and only externallight, is 1.0.

Next, the final WB coefficients WBcoe3 (listed as WB coefficient 3 inthe table of FIG. 9A) can be found with Eq. 2 using the mixture ratiosW. Then, with the below formula, the outcome of performing WB adjustmentusing the WB coefficients WBcoe3 are the R component value, the Gcomponent value, and the B component value of the output image.R=Kr3×RbG=Kg3×GbB=Kb3×Bb  [Eq. 6]

The calculated results of the table of FIG. 9A make it clear that withthe first embodiment of the invention, the output image signal (outputimage data) is completely white (R=0.50, G=0.50, B=0.50) in the firstrow where there is only flashed light and no external light and in thelast row where there is only external light and no flashed light, and issubstantially corrected to white even when there is a mixture ofexternal light and flashed light (corresponds to the data of the secondthrough the tenth rows of data listed in the table of FIG. 9A).

Next, the calculations (processing results) according to the secondembodiment of the invention are described using FIG. 9B.

The inputs, that is, the image data captured without emitting a flash(flash off image) and the image data that are captured with the use of aflash (flash on image), are the same as in the table of FIG. 9A.

In the second embodiment of the invention, the mixture ratio is foundfor each of the R component, the G component, and the B component, andthus, for example, by dividing Ra, which is the R value of the flash offimage, by Rb, which is the R value of the flash on image, the mixtureratio Wr for the R component is found. Wb and Wg can be found in asimilar manner.

Next, the final WB coefficients 3 (WB coefficients WBcoe3) can be foundaccording to Eq. 3 using the mixture ratios Wr, Wg, and Wb. Then, theresult of executing WB adjustment according to Eq. 6 using the WBcoefficients 3 (WB coefficients coe3) is the R component value, the Gcomponent value, and the B component value that are listed in the outputimage column in the table of FIG. 9B.

The calculation results in the table of FIG. 9B clearly show that withthe second embodiment of the invention, the output image signal iscompletely white in not only the first row, where there is only flashedlight and no external light, and in the last row, where there is onlyexternal light and no flashed light, but also when there is a mixture ofexternal light and flashed light (corresponds to the data of the secondthrough the tenth rows of data listed in the table of FIG. 9B).

It should be noted that processing by the LPF portion 3122, the LPFportion for R 4122 r, the LPF portion for G 4122 g, and the LPF portionfor B 4122 b has been omitted in the calculations of FIG. 9A and FIG.9B.

Thus, with the invention, it is possible to perform appropriate whitebalance adjustment easily, and with little circuitry, on images thathave been captured under lighting conditions with a mixture of externallight and flashed light, and also the impact of movement by the capturedobject, for example, is minimized so that appropriate white balanceadjustment can be carried out

Modified Example

Next, an image capture device according to a modified example of thesecond embodiment is described.

FIG. 8 schematically shows the configuration of a WB adjustment portion412A of the image capture device according to this modified example.

The image capture device of this modified example is the image capturedevice according to the second embodiment, except that its WB processingportion 4120 has been substituted with the WB processing portion 4120Athat is shown in FIG. 8. Apart from this, it is identical to the imagecapture device according to the second embodiment, and thus will not bedescribed in detail.

It should be noted that FIG. 7 shows the three data input/output lines(connection lines) for R, G, and B, but in FIG. 8 the three R, G, and Bdata sets are treated as a single vector data set, and the three RGBinput/output lines (connection lines) are shown as a single input/outputline (connection line). Further, the LPF for R 4122 r, the LPF for G4122 g, and the LPF for B 4122 b are treated as a LPF 4122.

Ina_RGB is the vector data for the image data a, Inb_RGB is the vectordata for the image data b, and W0_RGB is the vector data output from themixture ratio calculation portion 4121. W_RGB is the vector data outputfrom the LPF 4122, WBcoe1_RGB is the vector data output from an externallight WB coefficient determination portion 4123, WBcoe2_RGB is thevector data output from a flashed light WB coefficient setting portion4124, and Out RGB is the vector data output from an interpolationportion 4129.

As shown in FIG. 8, the WB processing portion 4120A is provided with anexternal light WB correction portion 4127, a flashed light WB correctionportion 4128, and an interpolation portion 4129.

The external light WB correction portion 4127 receives the RGB vectordata Inb_RGB of the image data b (image data when there is flashedlight) and the external light WB coefficient WBcoe1_RGB that is outputfrom the external light WB coefficient determination portion 4123. Theexternal light WB correction portion 4127 performs white balancecorrection (WB correction) on the RGB vector data Inb_RGB of the imagedata b using the external light WB coefficient WBcoe1_RGB. Then, theimage data that have been subjected to this external light WB correctionprocessing (the image data (RGB vector data) are referred to as imagedata c1_RGB) are output to the interpolation portion 4129.

The flashed light WB correction portion 4128 receives the RGB vectordata Inb_RGB of the image data b (image data when there is flashedlight) and the flashed light WB coefficient WBcoe2_RGB that is outputfrom the flashed light WB coefficient setting portion 3124. The flashedlight WB correction portion 4128 performs white balance correction (WBcorrection) on the RGB vector data Inb_RGB of the image data b using theflashed light WB coefficient WBcoe2_RGB. Then, the image data that havebeen subjected to this flashed light WB correction processing (the imagedata (RGB vector data) are referred to as image data c2_RGB) are outputto the interpolation portion 4129.

The interpolation portion 4129 receives the image data c1_RGB that areoutput from the external light WB correction portion 4127, the imagedata c2_RGB that are output from the flashed light WB correction portion4128, and the mixture ratio (smoothed mixture ratio) W_RGB that isoutput from the LPF 4122. The interpolation portion 4129 uses themixture ratio (smoothed mixture ratio) W_RGB as the interpolation ratioto interpolate the image data c1_RGB and the image data c2_RGB. That is,the interpolation portion 4129 obtains an image signal (image data (RGBvector data)) whose signal value is Sout_RGB, which serves as the outputsignal (output image data (RGB vector data)) from the interpolationportion 4129 and is calculated bySout_(—) RGB=W _(—) RGB·c1_(—) RGB+(1−W _(—) RGB)·c2_(—) RGB).In other words, the same interpolation processing as described in themodified example of the first embodiment is performed for each of the Rcomponent, the G component, and the B component. The interpolationportion 4129 then outputs the image signal that is obtained (image data(RGB vector data)) to the switch 314. The subsequent processing is thesame as the processing that has already been described, and thus is notdescribed.

Thus, with the image capture device according to this modified exampleit is possible for appropriate white balance adjustment to be carriedout easily, and with little circuitry, on images that have been capturedunder lighting conditions with a mixture of external light and flashedlight, and also the impact of movement by the captured object, forexample, is minimized so that appropriate white balance adjustment canbe carried out.

Other Embodiments

It should be noted that in the image capture devices that are describedin the above embodiments, the various blocks can be provided asindividually as single chips, or some or all of the blocks may beincorporated into a single chip, by a semiconductor device such as anLSI.

It should be noted that here an LSI is adopted, but depending ondifferences in the degree of integration, it may be referred to as anIC, system LSI, super LSI, or an ultra LSI.

The method of circuit integration is not limited to an LSI, and it isalso possible to adopt a dedicated circuit or a generalized processor.After LSI fabrication, it is possible to employ a programmable FPGA(Field Programmable Gate Array) or a reconfigurable processor in whichthe connections and settings of the cells within the integrated circuitcan be reconfigured.

Further, if other technologies that improve upon or are derived fromsemiconductor technologies introduce integration technology thatsupplants LSI, then naturally it is also possible to integrate thefunctional blocks using that technology. Biotechnology applications areone conceivable possibility.

The processing of the embodiments can be achieved by hardware as well asachieved by software. The processing can also be achieved by acombination of both hardware and software. It should be noted that ifthe image capture device according to the embodiments is achieved byhardware, then of course it is necessary to adjust the timing at whichthe various processes are performed. For the sake of simplifying thedescription, the embodiments did not include a detailed discussion ofadjusting the timing of the various signals that occurs in an actualhardware model.

It should be noted that the specific configuration of the invention isnot limited to the embodiments discussed above, and variousmodifications and alterations are possible within a scope that does notdeviate from the gist of the invention.

With the white balance adjustment device, image capture device, whitebalance adjustment method, storage medium, and integrated circuitaccording to the invention, it is possible to perform appropriate whitebalance adjustment and obtain natural image data even when an image iscaptured under conditions with a mixture of different lighting, such asexternal light and flashed light, and thus these have utility in fieldsrelated to video and image processing devices, and the white balanceadjustment device, image capture device, white balance adjustmentmethod, storage medium, and integrated circuit of the invention can beimplemented in such fields.

What is claimed is:
 1. A white balance adjustment device, comprising: amixture ratio calculation portion operable to calculate a mixture ratioof an external light component and a flashed light component that arepresent in a second image signal, based on a first image signal that isobtained without irradiating a flashed light on an object to becaptured, and a second image signal that is obtained by illuminating aflashed light on the object to be captured; an external light WBcoefficient determination portion operable to determine an externallight WB coefficient, which is a white balance coefficient for theexternal light, from the first image signal; a flashed light WBcoefficient setting portion operable to set a flashed light WBcoefficient, which is a white balance coefficient of the flashed light;and a WB processing portion operable to continuously perform whitebalance adjustment of the second image signal between the external lightWB coefficient and the flashed light WB coefficient by using the mixtureratio as an interpolation ratio, wherein the mixture ratio calculationportion estimates an R component mixture ratio based on a first R imagesignal, which is the R component signal of the first image signal, and asecond R image signal, which is the R component signal of the secondimage signal, estimates a G component mixture ratio based on a first Gimage signal, which is the G component signal of the first image signal,and a second G image signal, which is the G component signal of thesecond image signal, and estimates a B component mixture ratio based ona first B image signal, which is the B component signal of the firstimage signal, and a second B image signal, which is the B componentsignal of the second image signal, wherein the external light WBcoefficient determination portion determines an external light Rcomponent WB coefficient, an external light G component WB coefficient,and an external light B component WB coefficient from the first R imagesignal, the first G image signal, and the first B image signal,respectively, wherein the flashed light WB coefficient setting portionsets a flashed light R component WB coefficient, a flashed light Gcomponent WB coefficient, and a flashed light B component WBcoefficient, and wherein the WB processing portion continuously performswhite balance correction on the second R image signal, the second Gimage signal, and the second B image signal, based on, respectively, theR component mixture ratio, the G component mixture ratio, and the Bcomponent mixture ratio; the external light R component WB coefficient,the external light G component WB coefficient, and the external light Bcomponent WB coefficient; and the flashed light R component WBcoefficient, the flashed light G component WB coefficient, and theflashed light B component WB coefficient.
 2. The white balanceadjustment device according to claim 1, wherein the mixture ratiocalculation portion calculates an external light ratio, as the mixtureratio, by:(the external light ratio)=(a signal value of the first image signal)/(asignal value of the second image signal).
 3. The white balanceadjustment device according to claim 1, wherein the mixture ratiocalculation portion calculates a flashed light ratio, as the mixtureratio, by one of either:(the flashed light ratio)=1−(a signal value of the first imagesignal)/(a signal value of the second image signal); and(the flashed light ratio)=(a signal value of the second image signal−asignal value of the first image signal)/(a signal value of the secondimage signal).
 4. The white balance adjustment device according to claim1, wherein the WB processing portion comprises: a WB coefficientcalculation portion operable to determine a final WB coefficient, whichtakes on a continuous value and is the white balance coefficient forperforming white balance correction on the second image signal, byinterpolating the value of the external light WB coefficient and thevalue of the flashed light WB coefficient based on the mixture ratio;and a WB correction portion operable to perform white balance correctionon the second image signal based on the final WB coefficient, whichtakes on a continuous value.
 5. The white balance adjustment deviceaccording to claim 4, wherein the WB coefficient calculation portiondetermines WBcoe3, which is continuously calculated by any one of:WBcoe3=WBcoe2+w1·(WBcoe1−WBcoe2);WBcoe3=w1·WBcoe1+(1−w)·WBcoe2;WBcoe3=WBcoe1+w2·(WBcoe2−WBcoe1);WBcoe3=(1−w2)·WBcoe1+w2·WBcoe2; andWBcoe3=w1·WBcoe1+w2·WBcoe2, wherein w1 (0≦w1≦1) is the external lightratio, w2 (0≦w2≦1) is the flashed light ratio, WBcoe1 is the value ofthe external light WB coefficient, WBcoe2 is the value of the flashedlight WB coefficient, and WBcoe3 is the final WB coefficient.
 6. Thewhite balance adjustment device according to claim 1, further comprisingan LPF portion operable to perform low pass filter processing on themixture ratio, calculating a smoothed mixture ratio, wherein the WBprocessing portion uses the smoothed mixture ratio as the mixture ratio.7. An image capture device comprising the white balance adjustmentdevice according to claim
 1. 8. The image capture device according toclaim 7, further comprising a flash emission portion operable toirradiate a flashed light onto an object to be captured.
 9. A whitebalance adjustment method, comprising: calculating a mixture ratio of anexternal light component and a flashed light component that are presentin a second image signal, based on a first image signal that is obtainedwithout irradiating a flashed light on an object to be captured, and asecond image signal that is obtained by illuminating a flashed light onthe object to be captured; determining an external light WB coefficient,which is a white balance coefficient for the external light, from thefirst image signal; setting a flashed light WB coefficient, which is awhite balance coefficient of the flashed light; and using the mixtureratio as an interpolation ratio to continuously perform white balanceadjustment of the second image signal between the external light WBcoefficient and the flashed light WB coefficient, wherein the step ofcalculating a mixture ratio estimates an R component mixture ratio basedon a first R image signal, which is the R component signal of the firstimage signal, and a second R image signal, which is the R componentsignal of the second image signal, estimates a G component mixture ratiobased on a first G image signal, which is the G component signal of thefirst image signal, and a second G image signal, which is the Gcomponent signal of the second image signal, and estimates a B componentmixture ratio based on a first B image signal, which is the B componentsignal of the first image signal, and a second B image signal, which isthe B component signal of the second image signal, wherein the step ofdetermining an external light WB coefficient determines an externallight R component WB coefficient, an external light G component WBcoefficient, and an external light B component WB coefficient from thefirst R image signal, the first G image signal, and the first B imagesignal, respectively, wherein the step of setting a flashed light WBcoefficient sets a flashed light R component WB coefficient, a flashedlight G component WB coefficient, and a flashed light B component WBcoefficient, and wherein the step of using the mixture ratiocontinuously performs white balance correction on the second R imagesignal, the second G image signal, and the second B image signal, basedon, respectively, the R component mixture ratio, the G component mixtureratio, and the B component mixture ratio; the external light R componentWB coefficient, the external light G component WB coefficient, and theexternal light B component WB coefficient; and the flashed light Rcomponent WB coefficient, the flashed light G component WB coefficient,and the flashed light B component WB coefficient.
 10. A non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium that stores a program for causing acomputer to execute the white balance adjustment method according toclaim
 9. 11. An integrated circuit operable to execute the white balanceadjustment method according to claim 9.